When staff in the Connecticut Department of Public Health (CDPH) recognized a rise in the state’s Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) rates, they addressed the issue using a collaborative approach at regional long-term care (LTC) facilities. To strengthen results, the health department built quality improvement (QI) methods into this work, and applied for and received the Public Health Foundation’s (PHF) 2012 Future of Public Health Award (FPHA). The award recognized the initiative’s promise to generate measurable outcomes benefiting the future of public health through applied QI. With technical assistance from PHF’s Senior Quality Advisor, Jack Moran, CDPH implemented several tracking and interdisciplinary communication protocols in an effort to decrease CDI at LTCs.

Collaboration between public health and healthcare partners was a key strategy in addressing this community health challenge. Because CDPH’s FPHA project addressed antibiotic stewardship, it became one of the first three pilot sites in PHF’s Antibiotic Stewardship Program.

CDPH found willing partners among LTC staff, and together they implemented interventions to reduce the spread of CDI. CDPH hopes to obtain additional funding to expand the reach of these initiatives to more LTCs around the state and implement standardized CDI tracking protocols. Read the full case story here.

For more information about this initiative, please contact Micaela Kirshy at mkirshy@phf.org or phone at (202)218-4410.